Falling From Grace
by hulachowdown
Summary: This is the sequel to "The Forbidden Fruit" so please read that before reading this story. This is a heavy Darken Rahl/OC story that is an AU. I still lack skills in writing these summaries so give it a go before passing it off as rubbish.
1. Prologue

Hello everyone and Happy New Year,

I finally finished my last story and am ready to start with this one. I know I have kept some of you waiting for a while but I guess if you are reading this you aren't too cross with me. Just a slight difference from this story's prequel, I will not be writing in the first person as I find it too difficult to do at this time. I know that some of you might be a bit T.O-ed by this change because some of you have mentioned that that is what you enjoyed about the story but I feel that you will forgive this change after a few chapters. I have worked hard to improve my vocabulary so that I may not use the same 200 or so words in a repetitive manner. I do apologize for any grammar mistakes or typos in advance, if there are any major ones please feel free to make me aware of them so that I might correct them.

Just a bit of a warning, this first chapter is a bit.... gory?... but it is effective. Trust me, not all of the chapters will be like this one but at times, blood and guts are necessary... I do apologize in advance if this chapter makes yo uneasy (imagine me writing this... I was disgusted at times).

Here is a disclaimer for the story as a whole because I find it tedious to post it at every chapter: I do not own the tv show 'Legend of the Seeker' or any of its characters. I am not making any money off of writing this and this is simply for enjoyment of myself and others who read this. However Shara is mine and the plot is mine unless it is an event that happens on the show.

Without further ado, here is the first chapter of Falling From Grace.

* * *

The Dream (Prologue)

"Momma," a shrill voice howled from somewhere behind her.

She stood and looked around quickly, the only sound in the room the swishing if her long forest green dress. She stood there, listening. Where had that come from? It had sounded terrified and her nurturing side was kicking in.

"Momma!" the voice shrieked from beyond the wall of her personal study.

She didn't tell herself to move yet she found her body rushing towards the room next to the study, hoping to find the distressed child. She stood in an empty room. She heard the crying of the ghost child again and raced to follow it. It led her further and further from her room. Soon she was in a long abandoned set of rooms. It took her a while to realize that she was in her old chambers. She paused a moment to sweep her hand over the dusty window and survey the dark, unkept room. The voice calls again and she was pulled out of the palace all together. She wanders into the woods and soon loses her way. She did not care; she simply wanted to find the child that is playing on her heart strings this much.

Every now and then she would think that she caught a glimpse of her white rabbit, only to find that if she turned in the direction she had seen it, there were only trees. The cries come quicker and in a more frantic tone. Her heart races and her dark curls stick to her head and face from the sweat. Oh where is this child? She must find it? What if it is being attacked or is hurt? How could she ignore it and not help it?

She soon found herself simply going in circles and her head gets dizzy. She pauses to rest but the cries just turn into a wordless wail. She is overcome and felt her legs give out from under me. It is dark, dark all around. If only she had a light.

Suddenly a light appears. It starts faint and then grows to an almost blinding orb just above her. She squinted her eyes to see in the bright white light and looked around her. She saw a gorgeous little boy standing right in front of her. His piercing blue eyes were boring into hers. His hair was raven black and it was neatly combed over in an adorable fashion. His clothes very of high quality and fitted him perfectly. He at his belt a little jewelled knife hung.

"Momma?"he asked.

His face that had been calm and serene suddenly was stained with horror and terror. He looked at her and backed up a few steps screaming. She reached out to grab his hand and draw him to her but she looked down at her hand to find it covered with hot, sticky blood. Looking down at her body she found blood everywhere but she felt no wound that would explain it. She looked about her and saw her small dagger, which was more for show than anything, sitting on the ground next to her, completely caked with blood. She grabbed it and stood up. As she stood up she saw that the blood came not from one person with a bad wound but a whole army of men, slaughtered and oozing out liquid life. She felt a scream rise in her throat as she looked around, horrified.

She felt the blood drip slowly from her arms and she felt queasy. She stumbled over the dead bodies shrieking every so often when one moaned or moved slightly. She felt hot, salted tears cascade down her cheeks as she slowly tried to find a way out of the field of dead men. The further she went the more bodies she saw; all of them as mangled as the next and laying there in the buck. She stood in a small circular area that held no bodies and let herself fight to regain control. She must find a way out and find her son. She couldn't leave him alone in this hellish land, wherever this was.

A booming laugh made her jump and tense up. A cold sweat broke out all over her body and she stood there, frozen. She dared not turn around to face what she knew was behind her. After a few moments she let her mind fight. One side told her to turn around and be the brave queen she was, the other told her to run as fast as she could out of here. Her pride won and she turned definitely, ready to face she worst nightmare.

"Hello Shara," the dark voice said.

All she could do was fall to her knees and bow her head to keep from looking at the beast in front of her.

"We will soon be friends, you and I, you just wait and see. Soon you will be calling for my aid and I will help you because I know that you will help me win my war. I just thought that I might as well warn you so you don't fight your urges to come to me. I will make you strong and even more powerful then you were before," The Master of the underworld said to her in a low cackle.

She shivered and nodded her head. Maybe if she just agreed than he would let her go. She just wanted to go find her son and take her away from here.

"Looking for this?" the Master said pulling the boy out from behind him.

Shara was completely dumbfounded at how he knew what she wanted. She nodded and watched the boy carefully as he smiled at her. He looked up at the Master and then walked over to her and hugged her. She found herself hugging him back.

"I can give him to you if you want, if you are loyal..... but this is rushing things a bit. Come boy, you will be with your mother soon enough, I leave you girl for now. Just remember what I told you, I will be waiting," the Master chuckled.

He disappeared just as quickly as he appeared. She found herself alone in the field of bloody corpses, not sure what to do. The corpses were slowly crawling towards her. Their moaning grew loud and she stood up and tried to kick them away, only to have them grab at her and pull her down. The stench of decaying flesh was potent and the sticky blood was falling on her once again.

She screamed and screamed, doing her best to fight them off. Her clothes tore and she winced as her clean flesh grew covered with dirt and reeking blood. She curled into a little ball and felt herself slowly fade into the darkness.

"You will be back, whether you ask for it or not," she heard before she receded completely into the abyss of her mind.


	2. Chapter 1

Hello all. sorry I took so long to update, I am afraid that I fell victim to the whole first week back from christmas break madness. I managed to get this written though so Ihop eyou enjoy it.

I just want to say that I was amazed with the great feedback for the prologue of this story. I was honestly quiet overwhelm. I don't think I've ever gotten so many reviews and sory alerts right off the bat before. THank-you honestly guys.

Walking Up in the Forest

She heard the soft chirping of the birds and the snort of a horse near. She was extremely confused. Where was she? She felt grass beneath her and dirt under that. Why was she laying on the ground? What had happened to illicit that? A million and one questions popped up in her head and she could not answer most of them.

She heard the rustling of cloth near her and felt something brush against her cheek, pushing some hair of her face in the process. She knew that touch. Well if he was here than nothing must be too wrong then.

"Shara darling, it is time to wake up," the voice of her lovely husband whispered in her ear.

A smile slid to her lips long before she mustered the will to open her eyes and look at him. She could see him mentally and that was almost as good as looking at him. After a few deep breaths, her eyes fluttered open and the memories of the past night-or was it longer ago, she could not recall- came rushing back to her. She sat up, looking around her person, expecting to see the ghastly sights that had sent her into the unconscious.

She found that she was merely in a clearing in the forest just a short trek from her palace. Her dress was in fine shape and she was hardly encircled by dead, bleeding corpses. She wasn't in anything near where she had been late night. This must have been the area that the child had brought her in the real world thought, she figured that there must be a thinner division between the worlds here if the Master had been able to send her as powerful of a vision as he had. It did make her happy that most of it had been in her mind and not real. That would have been just awful.

She surveyed the area she was sitting in. Solders were standing around near the edge of the clearing and some of their horses were left to graze while they waited for orders. The birds were singing and the bees were buzzing. The late summer flowers produced a pleasant smell and butterflies fluttered between the colourful petals. She looked up at her Rahl who was sitting next to her with a relieved look on his face. He nodded to a medicine woman who rushed forward to check if her queen was healthy.

After a few minutes of annoying testing, the woman declared that Shara was fine missus a minor brain bruise, which explained the throbbing headache that slowly started to assault the younger woman, and a few bruises and minor cuts on her arms that would heal quickly. She was ordered to rest for the brain bruise and Shara found that she could not dream of doing anything else once she got home. The headache that racked her brain was overwhelming any urge to do something productive.

Once the medicine lady left then, Rahl helped his young wife to her feet and kept a firm hold on her to keep her from falling due to the dizzy spell she experienced from standing up too quickly. She waited for him to ask her the most obvious question. "What happened to you? ", there he finally asked it, it took him long enough in her opinion.

"Well, I am certain that you wouldn't believe me if I told you," Shara replied finally just after being carefully placed in front of her lord on his horse. She would hate being teased for something that had been so emotionally scaring, which he might just do. She wasn't up for any joking or teasing and hardly knew how she would react if he did.

She watched the solders all mount up and ready to follow their king away, towards the palace. She never noticed that all of the horses that were used were bays or chestnuts before and that if she were on her horse, she would be the only one on a white horse. A coincidence, she thought not.

"Try me, I promise I won't laugh at anything that happened or dismiss it unless you tell me that you saw a purple horse," he said with a slight chuckle as they set off. From her experience her was pretty good at not making too much fun of her crazy visions when they happened.

With a sigh she told him everything that happened to her. His silence made her uneasy but she continued through his silence. It annoyed her that she could not turn to look at his expression due to the way she was sitting and she desperately wanted him to speak, even if it was just to make fun of her or tell her that she had imagined the whole thing. The silence was killing her. The infernal beating of the horse's hooves was making her head pain her even more and the jostling gate of Rahl's horse hardly eased the pain.

"Well that is...unnerving," Rahl said simply. Understatement of the century; what had happened to her was far more than just unnerving. His voice was so float when he said it that she almost thought that was actually mocking her.

"Well, yes it was. I was in the damn underworld love, not a fun place to be. It makes me less willing to die any time soon then before," she said pretty softly so no one else might hear but them.

"I can only imagine how much you suffered, I am sorry if I am not all that comforting at the moment, I am trying to figure out why you might ever go to him for help in the future," Rahl said in her ear, tightening his hold on her to reassure her. He didn't want his wife hating him for not being the loving husband he normally was when they weren't surrounded by people who would think less of him for acting human.

She nodded and let him think for the rest of the trek. Once she got back to their chambers she would demand some form of physical comfort and she just hoped that he knew that. Sure enough, he did. Both instantly forgot the whole 'the queen must rest as much as possible' part of the diagnoses, or maybe they just didn't care to heed it.

*~*~*

The light streaming in from the window made Shara wince. She moaned and begged her maid to close the blinds and leave her to lay in the dark for a bit. Maybe she should have rested instead of going at it with Rahl when she got back. Enter now the old saying: Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda. Now she had to suffer for her momentary lapse in good judgement and resignation to the hormones that coursed through her body whenever she was around him. She would take the pain if it ment she could spend a lifetime with her _amazing_ husband. She hated to admit it but practice made perfect in his case.

Her giddy thoughts did help her forget about the pain but not long enough for her to nod off. The pain kept her from that even though that was what she was ordered to do. How the hell was she supposed to sleep with her head feeling as though it were going to explode? And now Rahl had some work to do so he couldn't even stay with her and keep her company. She was alone in the darkness and had nothing to do but wallow in the pain.

She started to think that there was no way she would be able to eat in public today. She wouldn't have had the will to undress if Rahl hadn't helped with that aspect of getting ready for bed. All she could do was lay there and stifle her moans and groans. She needed something that would dull the throbbing, just take the edge off of it. She had no skills in healing or medicine so she had no idea what to ask for. Just as she was thinking of calling for her maid, the slight girl appeared in her room with glass of tea that smelt awful.

"I was told to make you drink this, it will get rid of most of the pain," the mouse of a girl said not daring to look her queen in the eyes.

With a nod the queen to the cup and forced herself to take a sip of the warm liquid. It tasted horrible but she detected something she would recognize behind all of the potent herbs. It took her a few moments to identify the recognizable substance but it brought a smile to her lips; whoever thought to include some brandy had earned a kudos from her. Each sip was easier than the last and soon the glass was empty.

She lay back down and did find that the pain was significantly less powerful than before. Now at least she would be able to get some must needed rest until her husband came back from his study to 'keep her company'. Yet again the maids would be sent out of the room and candles would be lit. The guard at the door knew better then to comment if they heard anything, which she couldn't imagine how they could not unless the rooms had been spelled soundproof or they were literally deft.

With some of those pleasant thoughts, she drifted off only to be roused in the exact manner she had foretold. There was no way she would be going anywhere till tomorrow now. She had been right in her original predictions. Dinner in their room it was.


	3. Chapter 2

Wow, you guys are really blowing me away with all of the commenting and story alerting. It makes me very happy. Thank-you soooooooo much.

When you're gone

"I'm sorry love but I have to leave you for a little while. Business calls me away yet again," Rahl said to his wife as he came to say farewell.

It has been two weeks since her incident so natural, he was more than a little bit anxious about leaving her. She said she was fine and generally looked back to her normal self but every so often she had a look on her face that made him nervous.

"If you don't feel well, I am sure I can find a way to get out of the commitments," he added, studying her intensely.

"Where are you going?"she asked simply.

She was calm, deceivingly so, but she didn't want him to leave her, she never did. He must be doing something right for her to love him as much as she did. Honestly, he wondered how he had ever been able to get her hooked on him in the first place. She was way too good for him. Of course he was king so really no one was good enough for him but compared to the real Rahl, she was too good for him.

"Oh just to a few encampments, just to visit my mages and solders to keep up loyalty and moral and such," he said trying to come up with something that was plausible.

He hated lying to her but he had to do it. It was to protect her. He hoped that she realized that. He wasn't lying to be cruel or to leave her in the dark on a whim. He really hoped she knew that.

"You mean you can't or won't tell me right?" she asked, her voice and face etched with hurt and annoyance.

"Yes."

"Well then… you should go. Wouldn't want to keep you from your beloved duties, my lord," she said coolly.

It amazed them both that she could change her mood as quickly as it did lately. She was having mood swings to the extreme. Her moodiness was starting to annoy them both, which only made it worse for her.

He stood there a second, stunned, before his expression grew hurt then faded to cool calmness. With a little bow to kiss her hand, he stomped away. Well that really wasn't the greatest parting kiss and they both regretted it. Shara regretted her earlier mood swing and Rahl, his damned secrecy and stupid reaction to her mood.

Once Shara knew that Rahl was out of their apartment, she threw her pen to the floor and watched the ink splatter all over a ten inch perimeter. She kicked her chair under her desk and slammed her books into a pile. She winced as she heard her papers crimple and saw the fresh ink smudge. She knew that she would have to rewrite those few sentences and this made her even madder. She let out a cry of frustration and stalked about her room for something to throw or kick or rip to let out some pent up anger. She kicked over a basket full of extra bits of used paper.

The noise attracted the attention of her timid maid. The maid poked her head into the room and asked if there was anything that her highness needed. Shara glared at the young girl, nostrils flaring like an excited horse and her eyes held the heat of the flames of the fire in the grand heath in the study. The maid took a few steps back and ducked her head, realizing her bad timing. She watched her queen close her eyes and in a few moments, open them as calm and collected as she normally was.

"Yes, it would be great if you cleaned up this room. It is a mess and I must be getting to the hall for some appeals from the people," she said calmly and almost politely.

She smoothed up her hair and dress and left the privacy of her chambers to listen to a bunch of farmers bickering about who stole what from whom. Oh the joys of being left to tend to feeble affairs. This would also mean that she would have to face all of the court by herself. Oh….joy.

~*~*~

The days seemed to crawl by with her love gone. She regretted being so foul to him. What if he never came back? With him being king and all, that was always a possibility. There were so many people in the world that hated him, that didn't understand him and that wanted to kill him. Even with his squads and masses of guards, something could always happen to him.

She would feel horrible if her last words to him where ones filled with bitterness and the last kiss between them was cold and impersonal. It would kill her if that was the case. She would die just to follow him into the darkness that was the afterlife.

She absolutely loathed ever duty that she had to perform in his stead. She loved her people, don't get her wrong, but it was so unimportant to her without Rahl there, listening with her. At one point, she contemplated locking herself up in her room and not coming out until her lover came and made her re-enter her room on cloud nine. She was sure that her room up there was getting mighty dusty with her occupying it. She didn't even have time to check out properly.

She found that even her daily horse ride was hardly enough to console her. It almost made her miss him even more because he normally accompanied her. Now she was stuck with just a few boring old guards who didn't speak besides the occasional "yes your highness" and "no your highness". She soon gave up speaking to them at all seeing as she was basically just speaking into the void. There was no way to have a conversation with someone who just answered yes or no. Those tended to be a bit of a conversation killer.

She was really missing his company during meal times though. She had to sit there and listen to the senseless banter of the nobles of her court. She was excluded by the men because she was a woman so therefore knew nothing about the war or anything like that, though of course she did because she had to listen to the public complain about it every other day. The women's talk just bored her. Sure she was queen but the hardly ment that she cared at all about was the newest fashions were. She had a tailor to deal with that sort of silly, unimportant thing. Her tailor made her 'fashionable' clothes and she wore them. Simple.

She couldn't bare it when they bugged her about when she was going to produce an heir, like she could control that. She could hardly control what Mother Nature decided to do to her. It wasn't like she was wishing away the possibility of having a child, in fact she was wishing for one as hard as she could. She wanted to shout at them that she was trying, oh lord was she ever trying, and that she would get back to them on it. In her mind she blamed it on her husband's constant absence, seeing as he was always going away for weeks at a time this left them very little intimate time. What she would do to wake up tomorrow to know that she was pregnant.

She often found herself staying up late, reading old books on magic and enchants. Though she had significantly less power than she had had before, she still longed to master more and more complicated spells even if the side effects weren't always all that great. If she didn't faint at least once during her learning, she took it as a good sign. Rahl used to warn her from pushing herself too far but the hunger for power was more powerful than reason. He could go on his way and search for a way for her to regain her full power, but in the mean time, she would sit there and faint the night away if she had to.

Her studies led her down dark paths in the history of magic and she grew so engrossed in them that she had a hard time pulling away to get to bed. She continuously woke lying over her books, disorientated as ever, not knowing what time it was or why she was asleep on her desk. Only when Rahl finally came home did her habits change so she could spend as much time with him as possible, especially at night.

Something was different about him though, something she couldn't place. At first she just thought he was tired, or maybe a bit uneasy from some news he had gotten when he was away. After a week of his continuous brooding, she got up the guts to ask him.

"What's wrong?" she asked one evening letting her arms slide around his shoulders from behind.

She could feel his breathing quicken once she pressed herself against him and smiled. Actually, smiling isn't really the best way to describe it; she was more grinning and smirking all at once. She knew she was hot when...

"What do you mean?" He asked his voice husky.

"You've been off lately. I am worried. Talk to me, please?" She said slowly in his ear. Boy she was sure getting good at this whole sexual interrogation thing.

"I have no idea what you mean," he said obviously fighting to remain in control.

"Oh sure you don't," she said kissing his jaw line."But I know when my husband is off and you are, so just tell me what it is."

He sighed and spun to look at her. He kissed her hard and pushed against her body. He was obviously trying to distract her but that wouldn't work, not yet at least, not this time.

"Nice try sir, but you'll have to try much harder than that. It will be easier if you just tell me," she whispered as she pulled back.

" Fine! You win. I'll tell you. But you'll owe me, greatly," he said with a smirk.

"That is fine by me my lord," she cooed at him as he lead her to their bed chambers.


	4. Chapter 3

Sorry if this is a bit short but I am suffering from finals brain slugishness. I can hardly put 2 and 2 together but I just had to write a chapter for you guys. Ignore any typos unless they are major and feel free to tell me to review this again if it makes no sense. And if you have time pop a review in there like so many amazing people do that would be great. Maybe that would make me more willing to get off my butt and type down a chapter or two (honestly if I can write a 4 page analysis on a book I hardly read, I can figure this out).

Pce out guys for now. Enjoy this marvelous chapter.

Bedroom talk

"So let get this straight... the Seeker, has the three boxes of Orden and if you don't manage to get at least one away from him... we are all dead?" she asked him as she lay on his chest.

His breathing was steady despite their possible danger but his heart was racing. Sure enough it should be racing a bit, what with her laying on him and all, but it was really racing. She let her hands run along him in an attempt to calm him.

"Well, put simply, yes. But don't worry, I have a plan. You'll not be harmed because of me, I won't allow that." He said, his voice straining to stay steady and calm.

"It isn't me I am the most worried about, though I can't be much help now that I can hardly light a candle with magic, I just don't want you to get hurt. The last time you met with the Seeker he nicked you with his sword. One more second and he could have...."she gushed.

She wasn't afraid to let him know that she was afraid for him; after all she would be a really cold bitch if she wasn't. She was so afraid that the Seeker was going to end up killing him this time. Rahl wasn't one to be too worried about getting run through with a sword but that was exactly why she worried more about him. He was hardly as cautious as he should be. She just wanted him to send his minions out to do his work and him to stay home, safe with her.

"Oh Shara, I'll be fine. Don't worry about me; I won't actually be killed by him. That is just what is said to happen, but I know about it so it won't really happen any time soon," he said, sounding arrogant even though he was just trying to comfort him.

"Don't be stupid! If a prophecy is made that the Seeker will kill you, then he will unless you kill him first! Don't be an arrogant fool, not this time at least. It might cost you your life and I will be widowed all too soon. And then I'll have to kill myself before they try to kill me, do you want me to die?" she scolded.

"No."

"Then please, please be careful with yourself."

She kissed him lightly and he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"Trust me, I'll be careful. I promise you, but I must stop him. You have to understand that," he muttered soothingly, as if to a frightened child, which was exactly what she felt like at the moment.

"Why do you have to go? Why can't you just let your solders handle it? That is why you have them, "she asked childishly.

"Because then too many people would die for me and it would kill me to have to tell the families. I've had enough with seeing mothers and wives fall to the ground in tears because I just told them that their son or husband has been killed for me. I hate the look they give me. The way they all blame the deaths on me makes me feel so...guilty," he said, his voice cracking.

She kissed him a few times and hugged him close. Now it was her turn too comfort him and console him. She knows how guilty it felt and it had slowly been affecting her too. She couldn't imagine how hard this all must be for him; after all he was hardly the blood thirsty tyrant that everyone portrayed him as. He really was just doing what he thought was right for the good of his people and she supported him all the way.

Behind the hard, tough facade, he was a kind and gentle man that cared deeply for his people. She had seen him on more than one occasion in shambles because of what he had had to do or had had to witness. Sometimes things happen and he reacts a bit rashly but then again, who doesn't that happen to? Everyone has their faults and his was simply a touch of madness at times. That was hardly a reason for people to blame everything on him the way they did. Not everything was his fault, he couldn't control was all of his minions did now could he? In her opinion, they were all being just a little bit too critical and not even bothering to put themselves in his shoes for even a moment.

"Soon this will all be over and we'll live in peace. Our children will not have to suffer in this world as many have and they will never know what chaos is like," Rahl said, rambling slightly to himself.

She agreed and let him ramble on and on about how great the world would be when this was all over. She knew it helped him so she would facilitate it. She really did want to have her children in a more peaceful time but at the same time she just wanted to give Rahl a son even if it was in the middle of a full blown war.

Once he was done, they sat there in silence for a bit. She snuggled up close to him and kissed him lightly on his collarbone. Her hands ran along his chiselled chest and she grinned like a mad cat.

"Speaking about children....... if you plan on having any maybe you should spend less time away from me, and my bed," she proposed to him innocently.

He smirked as he pulled her up to have her straddle his chest. She covered his chest, neck and face with kisses and all he had to do was lay there. This lazy pace suited him well for the present time and he found himself stroking her arm slowly. She kissed just the right spot and pressed against just the right pace and he was on fire. He startled to kiss back and pull her against him. There was too much space between them the way they were positioned so he flipped her so that he could rest between her legs as they kissed. Her breasts, her lips, her hands.... yes this was better. He felt hot despite his lack of clothing and let his lips and hands wander. He grinned and smirked ever time so let out a wordless sound.

"Well then darling, I might just have to consider that fact and make sure that I stay here as much as possible."

He became occupied with kissing places other than her lips so she was free to talk and breath heavily.

"You better. I can't make children out of thin air and people are harping at me to produce an heir. D'you know how annoying all of those snoopy, old hags are? I just wanna...."

"Woman."

"Yes?"

"You talk way too much for your own good sometimes."

He let instinct take over as he attempted to make a child with his wife.

* * *

Are your cheeks hot yet? mine are rereading this :)


	5. Chapter 4

**Sorry that I kept you all waiting for so long but I've been pretty unmotivated later, it was hard for me to even think of anything decent to write. Thank-you for your patience.**

Taking a Risk and Getting a Welcome Surprise

With Rahl so preoccupied with this whole situation with the boxes of Orden, Shara was free to look up some pretty scary dark magic without anyone paying any attention. She was so intrigued by it all that she didn't so the horror and danger that most of the spells contained. Every so often she would feel as if someone was looming over her or hear laughing but when she turned, nothing was behind her. This made her feel more uneasy than any of the spells. She found one that interested her profusely and decided to try it.

She needed to do it at night so she waited for a night in which Rahl was too busy to come to bed. She snuck out of the palace and crept into the woods. She found a clearing that would let enough moonlight through for her to see. She hadn't noticed that it was yet again a full moon, it seemed like that last one had just been last night. The moon would help her read the spells at least. She set everything up and started to recite the words.

The words awoke in her a flame of anger that grew and grew. She wanted to roar and howl in rage but she kept her concentration on the words as hard as that was. She felt a sudden void as she finished the incantation. She had no control over herself as she fell to the ground. She looked around her, hoping that it worked at least. There was no way she could have done all of that for nothing. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she spin to look at who had touched her.

A cry of joy came from her lips as she saw her little boy standing right there. She slowly reached forward to bring him to her chest but stopped herself before she got him all the way there. Something felt wrong. It was as if something really really bad was going to happen. She grimaced and felt a shiver run down her back.

She grabbed her book and the hand of the child and ran away from the clearing. She thought that if she ran fast enough, they would get away and they would be safe. As they ran further away from the clearing, the boy slowly started to fade. She let out a gasping cry as the boy slowly disappeared right in front of her. Tears started to pour down her face.

"No," she said in a raspy voice.

She started to tremble and tried to jump forward to keep going but her legs would not have that. She fell to the ground and lay there for a bit. She listened to the silence of the woods and the panting of her breath. Each snap and crackle in the forest made her jump. She tried to prepare herself to be ready to jump up and fight if need be. Finally, the snapping stopped and she could hear a soft growl. She winced as she slowly forced herself to turn and face the evil that was behind her.

"It was silly of you to think that you could outrun my minion. After all, you were the one that summoned him," a mocking voice cooed at her. She winced and slowly made herself stand up.

She found herself looking at a huge.... thing. It was furry and bloody and smelled like a rotting corpse. In the darkness she could only really see the outline of it. She tried to stay as far away from it as possible.

"What...?"she said in a frightened little voice.

"Oh don't be afraid Shara; this is just one of my little creatures. I don't really know what to call it yet, maybe some human will give it a good name when they see it." He cackled mockingly.

"But-but-but.... what do I do with it?" she asked, not sure if that was really what she wanted to ask.

"I don't know dear," he cooed. "I am sure you will come up with something, seeing as you are becoming such a little good minion of mine yourself. You'll come up with some way to reap havoc on the world."

She winced as she realized that he was right. She was becoming quite a slave to dark magic and it was just so intriguing for her. She couldn't seem to stop. Maybe this was just how her life was supposed to go. Maybe she should just resign to her fate and embrace the darkness.

"Yes Master, I'll find a way to please you," she said, dropping her head to hide her face in the darkness of the night.

He let out a booming laugh and seemed pleased.

"How do you want me to serve you?"

"You already are. If you set this creature free on the world and continue your studies of my favourite sort of magic, you will be doing enough."

"If it pleases you Master."

There was a sudden burst of wind and she felt herself stumble back and she looked up to see where it came from. There was just the thing in front of her and no one else here. Maybe she had just imagined him after all. She had been asked to set this beast of his –or hers as he called it- free on the world but she hardly wanted to harm the her people. With a sigh she took a few steps away to think a bit. Well maybe if she told Rahl, she dismissed that quickly enough because then she would have to explain how she got it. Well maybe she could tell it just to fight their enemies; she had a feeling that that plan would backfire. She just looked at the colossus of a thing with was standing there waiting for her to tell it what to do.

"What am I going to do with you?" she said in a defeated voice.

She got a snort as a reply. The thing lifted its head and looked around itself. The thing seemed to sniff around a bit and pound the ground with whatever feet it had.

"What? You just want to run around in this forest? You can do that if you don't kill all the animals. You can kill any humans that are sneaking around though, if they aren't in armour, they aren't supposed to be here ok? "

The thing snorted twice and then was off. She really hoped that this thing wouldn't kill everyone who came near the forest, or that it decided it wanted to go ransack villages. She shrugged and started to find her way back to her room, figuring that if it didn't listen she would just send some guards to go kill it. If it wouldn't listen, it wasn't allowed to stay. It wasn't like she had summoned that thing, she had summoned her son. A wave of despair hit her as she realized that ultimately she had fail her spell. She had gotten a beast while she had only had her son for a matter of minutes.

She found that it really was easy to break into her palace at night, maybe she should fix that, but then again she shouldn't if she planned on practicing her magic. In only a few moments, she was back in her room. She put her book away and was in the middle of undressing when she heard a loud banging sound. She followed the sound until she found the source. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Right on the low table in the sitting room, there was a basket. It had not been there when she had come in, after all she had come in through this way to avoid the prying eyes of the guards. She slowly approached the basket to peek inside. A sudden burst of crying made her jump back a little bit before she realized what was in the basket.

At first she was overjoyed, and then she couldn't help but understand that this would take a whole lot of lying and bribing to cover up. She shrugged it off for the moment and reached into the basket to pick up her source of joy. She sat there and grinned like a mad hatter. She just couldn't believe that the Keeper had actually thought to give her this. She stood there smiling and cooing at the bundle in her arms, until she turned around and saw the look on Rahl's face. She hadn't heard him come in and the smile on her face faded slowly.

"What....Where......How?" he asked, his voice shaking slightly.

She wasn't sure if he was mad or happy.

"Well.... it's my sisters..... well hers and yours.... she said you should have it.... seeing as she isn't married," she said, through a plausible situation out there, hoping he would buy it.

"She told you this?"

"No, well, it was in a note. A servant delivered him earlier tonight. He came in through the back door so no one would know."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"Well then...."Rahl said, "we'll have to cover this all up."

She nodded and smiled at him.

Again, there was another little awkward pause.

"I guess we have a son."

"So we do."


	6. Chapter 5

Meeting of the Prince

"What shall we name him; apparently my sister left this honour to us."

"How about Alric?" he asked thinking of a suitable name for his new son.

He thought that the name of Alric would be a good name for his son. It was a true name of the house of Rahl. It would put a stop to any rumours that might come up about how the baby came to the palace and not being his and his wife's.

"Alric Rahl," she cooed to her new son. She smiled and looked over at Darken."Good thinking to name him after one of your earliest ancestors. No one would name his son after any important figures of his family if it wasn't his legitimate son."

"That is exactly why I think that his name is a good one."

~*~*~

Rahl decided to keep his wife and new son hidden in their quarters for a few days to make a birth seem possible. The baby was still young enough that it would all work out in the end. He made appearances at dinner and in court but his wife stayed neatly stashed away in her room taking care of the little prince. Her maids and his guards had all been paid off to go along with whatever was told to the public. He really hoped that no one would question his word when it came down to it; it would save him a lot of lying and money.

On the day that he had chosen to announce the birth of his son, there was a feast in the honour of the newly born prince. It had seemed a surprise to everyone to hear that the queen had been pregnant without showing it but they all seemed to just except Rahl's word, to his face at least. He sometimes loved that he his people feared him enough not to think to doubt him and question his word.

A week later, he saw it fit to let his son been seen by the court and the people of D'Hara. There was a huge festival in honour of the little prince and the people descended into the courtyard of the palace in their best. Music was played and food and drink were sold. It would be a day to be remembered. The yard was decorated with garlands of flowers and Darken was even seen publicly smiling; an odd thing to be seen on the face of one of the most feared kings in history.

Shara was dressed in a new fine gown that made her seem more motherly and his little Alric had a fine little outfit on, made just for the occasion. It was silly for such a young child to have clothes of such quality, but on a day like this he would be decked out in the finest. His little amount of jet black hair was neatly combed on his head and he smiled so large that his cheeks dimpled slightly. He was all in all an adorable baby, a strong and healthy thing that would grow to become a good young prince and heir to the throne.

Rahl saw this as a thing to celebrate and even showed a bit of deep affection for his wife to the people around them throughout the day. A kiss there and touch here, it wasn't much but it was a lot more than anyone was used to. He was playing the role of a proud and overjoyed husband perfectly and she fit in with the whole new mother role. He didn't know what she did to herself this morning but she honestly seemed to glow like new mothers did. He figured it was a –product of some magic but he really did like it.

When it was time to introduce Alric to the noble court, she walked beside him holding the little boy snugly in her arms. He looked so perfect there; he didn't even fuss and cry like one might expect him to. He looked around at the people in the room with intrigued eyes and seemed to love the attention. His cute little smile earned a few murmurs of "he is adorable" and "a fine looking lad" from the nobles around him. His doll like appearance was only amplified as a tiny cornet was placed on his little head to show his status. The three royals looked picture perfect with their official crowns on and fine clothes. It looked like a painting or a drawing out of an old history book.

The doors were opened to the courtroom and the common people were allowed to flood in the back portion of the viewing room. The people were freer in expressing their feeling for the little doll-like prince and the sight before them. They all seemed to agree that they were staring at the most handsome prince ever born and the most handsome royal family there ever was.

Rahl waited for them to quiet down until he spoke out to the crowd.

"Inhabitants of D'Hara, noble-men and common-folk alike, you have come together today in order to bear witness to the naming of my new son. This will unite you all in history as you witness a monumental day in D'Hara's history. It is not every day that a new prince is born, much less a prince of this quality and beauty, so this will not be like all of the other crowning of the past. You are all witnessing the crowning of the future greatest king there ever will be.

So, without further ado, may I present you to Alric Rahl the Second, prince of D'Hara."

The mob exploded into applause and general jubilation. Hails and congratulations were called out and praise was directed towards all. The people hurried to line up and meet to little prince in turn.

Most of the people that approached the bench were happy to praise the family and coo at the little gem in front of them. A few asked questions and got a bit nosy but all that was needed to shut them up was a stern look or a curt reply and they went on their way looking sheepish.

It was when the noble ladies came up that the problems really started. They had seemed their queen everyday almost and they knew that she hadn't looked pregnant in the least. Their gazes were full of suspicion and questioning. They also had the power to ask questions without being in fear for their lives.

"How on earth did you ever hide your pregnancy?" almost all of them asked.

With a bit of quick thinking she looked down and tried to look bashful. She mumbled something about magic and being vain and they would all just leave with annoyed looks on their faces. This obviously wasn't the end of this conversation. She would really need to come up with something a lot more convincing.


	7. Chapter 6

The Price to Pay

For weeks the royal family was invited to feast and balls in honour of the new prince of D'Hara. Everyone was gay and happy, and ignorant of the war that was still raging against that damn Seeker of Truth and the Resistance. For once, Rahl was not being badgered on when he would just give up the furtive fight or when he would just send out his mages to burn them all to a crisp, no questions asked. Everyone just left him alone and he liked it.

The only piece of information that threatened his peace was the rumours of a terrifying beast running rampage in the forest surrounding the palace. He was asked many times if it were one of his creations, made to protect the new prince from any enemy. Of course he had no idea what they were talking about but he played along and claimed to have it all under control.

He realized that he would have to investigate the claim when more than one commoner complained about his flock being attacked but a horrendous beast and a plea for the king to keep his beast under control and better fed if needed; after all, he couldn't let himself be known as the king that let his people suffer to protect his son. He sent a squad to search the woods to see if the beast was true or fiction, conjured up by a mix of too much drink, late night parties and superstition. In a matter of hours, he hoped to have this whole mess cleaned up and explained; but he did not know what he was facing here.

Sure enough, he received word from the squad that they had found the beast and that it was just as horrifying and gruesome as told to be, but that it would be no match for their swords and brave hearts. They promised a quick end to the beast and a new head to be mounted on the king's hunting trophy wall. A matter of minutes later, there was a new message in a rather different tone. It told of the battle between the beast and solders. The beast literally ripping the corpses of live men apart as if they were paper dolls and hungrily pursuing them solders as they tried to retreat to regroup. The beast hadn't initiated the attack, but once attacked, had fought back with the ruthlessness of a mad man.

Rahl shuttered as he read the gory descriptions. He managed to compose himself enough to write a reply for the remaining solders to track the beast and watch it for a day to study its habits before returning to the palace to report. He stated clearly for them not to attack the beast unless absolutely necessary. He decided that with the information they would gather, he would be able to send out a new squad, or two, and to kill the beast when it was the most vulnerable.

He found it odd that this beast had not left the forest and rampaged through the country yet. It was obviously capable of felling more than a couple sheep and scaring a few young people going into the forest for a bit of moonlit fun. It was apparent that someone was obviously controlling the thing and in which case the person possessed a quite significant gift. He would have noticed if it was anyone in a palace and most of the villagers around these parts couldn't possibly have any trace of magic left in them besides the one placed on him to obey the king. This person must be hiding in the woods or must be a newcomer in the towns, and he would have to find a way to use them to his advantage. Something clicked into place in his head and a smirk fell on his lips. He knew what he would going to do

*~*~*

"Just to make sure you all have heard me correctly, because I wouldn't be very happy if any of you disobeyed my orders, you are to capture the beast, NOT kill it," Rahl said.

There was a soft murmur in the crowd of men standing below him. They obviously wanted to stick the beast through and avenge the men that the beast had murdered. They would heed him though, he knew it.

"I know you all might be tempted to kill the beast, but you all must be patient. Once we capture the wizard that is controlling the creature, then you can kill it."

There was a murmur again and they all seemed happier with this plan, as long as they got to kill the thing eventually. He smiled slightly to himself as he dismissed his men. They quickly made off for the woods and were ready to catch the monster. His smile slowly faded as he remembered what Shara had said the past night.

He had been writing up orders and signing documents in his study when she had come to him. He had been smug and happy with his plan and couldn't wait to have another powerful wizard on his side. He felt as if the Creature was on his side, sending him all these mages to control. He hadn't taken her seriously at the time but at night, while he was lying next to her, he couldn't help but wonder if she had a point.

She had said that maybe he shouldn't go after this beast. Maybe the person controlling the thing was just trying to protect his new prince and that it was his gift to the family. Maybe taking the beast from the forest would make the mage mad and he would set it loose on the palace. Then his new son would be in trouble and it would be on him.

Her other hypothesis was that maybe this was all just another clever ploy of the Resistance or the Seeker and his followers. Maybe it was just a way for them to gain access to the palace and kill both the prince and king in one go. Then she would be left alone and vulnerable and would inevitably be killed too. As much as death would grant her an eternal life with her husband and son, she was hardly too pressed to go through that whole process.

Again, at the time it had seemed ridiculous and just the worried musing of a concerned wife, but now that he thought about it, they were both very possible. He shook off the feeling of doubt and decided that he was right in doing this but that next time he might give Shara's word more creditability and thought before executing the plan. He walked back to his chambers and waited for word from his solders.

*~*~*

Shara felt fidgety all day. She knew what Rahl planned on doing and that the Keeper was hardly all that pleased with what was going on. He had warned her against letting him carry through with the capture of the beast but despite her best efforts of pleading, and she had really done her best both during and after the debate to try to persuade him to stop and think, he had gone on with it.

She paced nervously with Alric in her arms and realized that he was crying. She tried to settle him but she could hardly settle herself, how could she calm her crying infant son? She handed him over to his nurse and made for her study to pace there a bit. She felt sure that she would wear the rug thin soon if she kept up all this nervous walking, but at least it was keeping her fit.

She jumped as she felt the eerie feeling that she always got when she was about to talk to her Master and felt her heart jump into her throat. She knew that he was mad, and was afraid of what he might do.

"Shara, I am honestly a bit disappointed in you. I thought you would have tried a little harder to stop your husband from going on with his stupid plan," his voice boomed from behind her.

She spun to face him but kept her eyes glued to the floor in shame. She felt like a small child being scolded for being naughty. The disappointment was far worse than the rath she thought she would have to face.

"I'm sorry Master, I tried my hardest but he was not about to listen to me. He had his mind set on going through with it and he is very stubborn at times," she muttered, trying to excuse herself to him, but more importantly to herself.

"Well, now that he will be in the palace, you will have to know his true purpose and how to control him," he said.

She felt a pang of shock but didn't dare look up to see if he was being serious.

"Like all my creatures, this lovely pet of mine was created to bring me souls to work with. I need these souls to build my army so I need to keep getting souls. Now, this is a very special pet. He doesn't only send me souls; he more importantly sends me blood and limbs to work with to build my army. Anything he eats or drinks gets sent to me. Recently he has only sent me animal carcasses and blood and a few sprinkles of human matter to work with, which is fine, but now that he is captured you will have to find ways for him to continue to send me building materials."

She felt her body twitch at a few of the details but besides that she kept perfectly still. She took in the information like water and hoped that if she kept her Master happy, he would forgive her. She nodded her head and kept quiet on her doubts on sending him good quality materials. She would find a way to get the beast fresh meat, even if it ment she had to resort to an extreme. She would keep the beast and the Master happy.

She heard a knock on her study door and was jolted to reality. She bade the person to enter and speak and was told that her husband was asking for her in his study. She was told that it was urgent and to hurry as much as possible. The servant left the room with a bow, leaving the queen alone, standing in the middle of her study, trying to remember all that she had been told before she rushed off to talk to her husband.


	8. Chapter 7

**Sorry for taking a long time posting this but life is really busy for a bit. I'll post next week I promise, but then I'll be away for two weeks so..... no promises.**

Forbidden

A knock on the door roused Rahl from his musing. "Enter" he said with an air of non-chalice. A grin appeared on his face when he saw who it was. "Ah yes, Shara dear, I have been waiting for you."

Shara looked him over for a moment, as if trying to read him and slowly made her way to the plush chair that she normally sat in. He followed her with his eyes and waited until she was seated until he got up and started to pace. She was here and now all he had to do was get the words that were in his mind out in a formidable way. He paced as he thought of a way to put the facts so that she would appreciate their importance but not be terrified.

After a slight hesitation he started," As you most likely heard through the gossip channels, my solders captured a beast that was lurking in the woods. It is common knowledge that this beast is just a protective measure to defend our son, I just want you to know that this is not the truth. This beast is not of my creation, I do not know who created it. I am merely keeping it here so that we can find out who created it so that we may apprehend them. "

He paused and resumed his pacing. He glanced over at his wife to see how she was taking this. She was of course as composed as ever, her eyes that trailed him were slightly wide but that was the extent of her distress. Why did he ever worry about telling her this, she was obviously not the average woman who swooned at the slightest thing. He loved that about her.

"Even though the beast is locked up in a safe location, I do not want you anywhere near it. I don't care if such things interest you or anything of the sort, I forbid you from even entering the same wing as the beast is being held. "

She looked as if she were about to protest so he came and stood before her. He sunk to his knees and looked up at her with pleading eyes. He willed that she would just understand and take his advice.

"Please love; I am only doing this for you wellbeing. I would not forbid you to go near it for no reason, you know that. I only know that this beast is lethal and wish that no harm will come to you. I know that you are a strong woman and that I have offended you by ordering you about, I am sorry. I just hope that you head my words and go not near the beast."

She stared him down for a few minutes, her eyes slightly glaring and her lips ready to spit out insults and how insulted she felt. He pleaded her with his eyes to understand. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, her eyes cooled and she let a hand slid to his cheek.

"You are right; your lack of confidence in my ability to defend myself insults me greatly. Lucky for you, I understand that you are just acting like the man you are and trying to defend your wife. "She kissed his forehead softly."

"Just try not to repeat it again; I won't always be as forgiving. I may not have all of the magic I used to, but I have plenty enough to make you regret thinking me weak and feeble."With a light tap on his cheek she stood up and let a smile fall on her lips.

"Is that all you wanted to tell me or do you have anything else you will forbid me from doing?" she asked with a raised brow.

A smirk fell on his face as he got what she was inferring. "No, that isn't the end of what I want to forbid you from doing in the least," he muttered as he pulled her closer to him by the waist. He spelled the room before their lips came together. There was no way he wanted anyone bothering them when she was in this mood.

~*~*~*~

After leaving the study she knew that she had wasted some time. She felt the clock ticking in her brain as she tried to come up with a way to accomplish what she needed before it was too late. She felt her brain firing away, as it came up and dismissed plans. Finally something plausible popped into her mind and she decided to just go with it. Before she could submit to the side of her that was utterly terrified, she made her way toward the part of the castle that Rahl had just forbid her from entering.

She found the way to the beast's holding place easy enough. She felt herself slowing down as she neared it and almost turned around before she remembered that she had to do this for hers and her son's life. She didn't even want to speculate what might happen if ever she didn't hold up her end of the bargain. All she knew was that it wouldn't be good for anyone.

With new found determination she walked right up to the beast's cell and was ready to initiate her plan that would give her another day or two.


	9. Chapter 8

**Oh wow I am so sorry for ditching you all for so long but I was stuck in that mass confusion in Europe and then I had to catch up on all the school work I missed so I hardly had the energy to write. This is a bit short but I'm sure you'll all enjoy anything you get. I'll try to get the next short but important chapter out as soon as I edit it.**

* * *

I'm sorry

As she approached the cell the guards stared at her. Neither of them wanted to say anything though they both knew that the queen was not supposed to be down here. They were both afraid of Rahl but they were almost more afraid of the slight girl in front of them, something so ridiculous that neither of them would ever admit it in fear of the torment they would have to suffer.

"So this is what all the fuss is about... I don't see how this thing could do all that is said that it did. It looks disgusting more than anything, but not all that terrifying," she said rather calmly, as if she were appraising a horse or dog, not a demon.

"I want a closer look. Open the door so I can see it better; these bars ire in my way, "she said in a tone that was ment as an order.

"I'm sorry my lady, but we have strict orders from my lord not to open the door for anyone," One of the guards said in a shaky voice. He didn't know what the words might do to him.

"I don't think my lord's orders apply to me, now open them before I make you," she said with a slight roll of the eyes. She knew she was acting like a full on brat but she didn't care, in fact she was quite enjoying herself.

"I believe that my lord's orders applied to you as well as the general public," the other guard said.

"Open the door," the queen ordered, giving them one more chance to do what they were told.

With a shudder, both men opened the door without a hesitation. They really didn't want her to get mad at them just in case the stories about her were true. They both liked their current body.

She walked in defiantly and walked right up to the beast. Both men stood there nervously, she was going a lot closer than necessary. She circled the beast a few times and tapped at the chains holding the beast in place. She muttered something and the beast reared up. The guards jumped in fear but the queen hardly flinched.

"This thing isn't really all that terrifying, I have no idea why you two are so afraid of it," she said not even looking at them.

They both looked at either surprised that she knew they were afraid without looking at them. Now they were even more anxious. Something was wrong with this girl.

Suddenly, out of the blue, the beast raised a leg and broke the chain that was holding it down. With one swift motion the beast had swept the queen off her feet and had her on the ground. She didn't scream or anything. She just looked at the guards with wide eyes and said "help".

The men fought their fears and ran into the room without another delay. Their main goal was to get the queen out to safety and leave the beast unharmed so their hides wouldn't be tanned. The beast however, was not going to make their plan an easy one to apply. The demon fought them viciously, causing the men to have to stick it a few times with their swords. The queen scrambled away and out of the cell.

"I'm sorry," she said softly, almost inaudible to herself, let alone the men.

The men looked at her in surprise and didn't have a chance to ask why she was sorry before she shut the gate and pulled out the key. She looked at them with pained eyes and turned to walk away. She heard the shouts coming from the men first to her and then to anyone. They were all in vain, no one would hear them pleading for someone to save them but her, and she wasn't going to help them.

Once she got far enough away, she turned to look back at the cage. All she could see was the men disappear and the claws of the beast flash in the dim light. She saw blood and other body parts fly around the cell and stood there watching the whole thing until the noise died down.

Only once she was certain that the beast was done did she walk back to the cell and place the key in the lock. She turned it and opened the door slightly to make it seem like the men went in on their own free accord. She had to step around pools of blood as she did it and she scrunched up her nose at the smell. She couldn't help but look the beast over.

The beast's eyes met hers and she flinched. It seemed to call her on what she just did. She didn't like it but it had to be done. She wasn't about the put the life of a few guards over hers and her son's.

"I had to," she said defiantly to the beast's accusing eyes. "I had to, you understand as much as I do."

The beast blew hot breath all over her and she shivered. That was enough for her; she had to get out of here. She turned on her heels and sprinted away from the horrid evidence of what she had done. The whole while she was just thinking about how she would have to do this over and over. She didn't know how long she would be able to do this and stay sane. Maybe she would just have to chance not feeding the beast for a while, to see what would happen. She knew that it was a risk but maybe it was one worth taking.

She got to her room and closed the door behind her. She paced around a bit and then let herself collapse on the ground. She shook her head, trying to get the images out of her mind. After she calmed down a bit, she realized just how mad she had turned. Of course she would kill if it came to that. Chancing not feeding the beast for too long was NOT a risk she would take, not ever. No matter how much damage this did to her mind and the numbers of solders they had, she wouldn't stop. She knew this, and knew why. She had already taken a turn for the worst, had already lost her marbles. Now that there wasn't too much left to lose anyways, why would she stop?


	10. Chapter 9

**Here is the next chapter. Hope you all enjoy it. Comment if you do, even if you don't- tell me why just be nice about it.**

* * *

Shara's confidence grew with every murder she committed and got away with. She developed a love for watching her pet devour the stupid guards. Of course her little trick was getting old, but she believed that it was the only way to successfully get the guards in the cage. She didn't notice that everyone began to keep a keen eye on the guards that were posted by the demon's cage.

Everyone was becoming slightly suspicious of all of the accidental deaths, after all not everyone could believe that every single one of the guards had sought to kill the beast. Shara was ignorant to these eyes watching the population of the palace and in her ignorance she got sloppy. Sometimes she would venture too close to the cage and would get blood on her gown, if someone noticed she would have to come up with a quick and convincing excuse or she knew she would be caught. In general, she was getting sloppy and this would end up harming her more than she could imagine. As the tension rose and everyone seemed to be ready to blame just about anyone, she would be stupid enough to venture far too close to the bars of the cell. This would cause blood to streak her from face to foot and there was no one to explain that in a feasible way. She started to panic and tried to spell the blood away but in her current state that would be impossible.

She felt her knees tremble and start to give way. The sound of footsteps coming down the hall hit her ears and she knew she was in a heap of trouble if she didn't get the hell out of here. A terrified look was starting to plaster itself on her face, and then her face instinctively turned into one of horror. She knew that her end was near when the footsteps stopped and a pair of boots stood in front of her.

A body slowly started to appear as the person slowly crouched down. A pair of strong hands came to her shoulders and she couldn't help but shrink away. She felt tears starting to run down her cheeks to play up  
her shock.

"Shara," a low, calm voice spoke out." Come on; let's get you away from here. We'll talk about this later."

The solid but caring hands helped her up firmly and somehow she found herself trekking back to her room. She felt the pressure of the hands always on her shoulders and the soft constant sound of breathing behind her. The breath hit her neck hot, and moist. She never realized how cold she was until that breath hit her.

Once in her rooms, she was directed to a chair. She sat in it just like she assumed she was supposed to do. She felt a blanket being carefully wrapped around her and she started to shiver. She slowly let her body curl up into a ball and started to feel like a small child ready to be scolded.

"Shara, I'll leave you alone for a while. Would that be ok with you? You can always for me if you need me," the voice came again.

She found herself nodding and the person left. She was left to relax by herself in front of a big fire. She just sat there and shivered, trying to regain some self control, after all she hadn't really been affected by the killing, right?

It must have been hours before anyone disturbed her, and even then it was just a maid bringing her some food. Once alone she attempted to eat some of the soup and bread but found that she couldn't. That was weird, this had never happened to her before. No, she had never lost her appetite after seeing death before. Maybe she was finally really losing it, not just the giggling sort of mad, but the out of body sort of mad. This couldn't be a good thing.

She couldn't help but shrink back into her chair and hope that someone would come and talk to her before she truly withdrew from her body. She felt her mind slowly receding into her head and it scared her. She didn't know if she would be able to get out of her mind if she completely disappeared into it. That's what scared her most of all.

She heard a chuckle above her and she looked round her in hurry. Nothing was there. Again the chuckling began, but this time she didn't bother looking. Obviously her mind was mocking her now. When the chuckling stopped and she felt the weight of someone's presence in the room, she jumped a little bit.

"He-e-ello?" she asked in a shaky voice that hardy sounded like her own.

"Hello love," a chilly voice replied. "So good to see you again, though I would have liked it to be under different circumstances. Remember girl, everything has a price. What is worth more, a prince or a guard?"

She looked up with an inquisitive look on her face but only to find that no one was in her room but herself. She looked around herself just to be certain but there was no one else there. She only saw the face of her husband as he walked into the room with a slightly angry look on his face. And then she understood what her master had done. She would have to thank him the next time she saw him.


	11. Chapter 10

**Oooooooo things are really starting to heat up now! Only a few more chcapters left! The suspense is killing me! Tell me what you think should happen? I have the next two chapters drafted and there will only be maybe 1 or 2 more after those so enjoy these while they last! **

**On another note, is everyone excited for summer? I am , I one and a half wes of class left and pre finals and then finals left till I am done. For all of you who are already done, I envy you greatly and wish to have your freedom but hey! I only have 3 weeks till I can enjoy said freedom.**

Chapter 10

"Shara, you know I told you never to go near that thing! Why did you go there even after everything it has been doing recently? Are you asking to die because that could be arranged in a more dignified way?" Rahl vented angrily.

Shara sat in her chair watching him pace back and forth. She could tell that he was just worried about her and therefore he got a little bit snarky. Of course he was going to be angry with her for disobeying him but she knew that really he was just terrified as to why she was near the beast. After all the rumours going around the castle, the last thing he wanted was a stream of gossip going around about the queen being caught near the beast. That would really be bad for Shara, he wasn't even sure if he would be able to protect her against the rath of the people.

He continued his senseless babbling as she sat there completely silent. She knew better than to interrupt him. She waited until he was done before she even thought of saying anything.

"Rahl dear, you don't need to worry. I am not up to anything nor do I wish to die. I simply heard someone calling for help and couldn't bring myself to ignore the calls another time knowing what was happening." She said softly. She tried to radiate calm and cool so that she can calm him down along with herself.

Rahl looked at her with a slight amount of shock on his face and slowly, very slowly, a smile slides onto his lips. "Well then, you understand me perfectly don't you? I just can't seem to understand you, "he said slowly and came to perch next to her on the armrest of her chair. He let his hand pull her face up to his and let a soft kiss dance along hers. "I just really wish you had walked the other way. That would have saved me so much worry and damage control. But at least now you know what that thing can do and you will now stay away from it. Right?"

She felt herself nod while under his total control. He was way too good at getting her enchanted to his will. She would have to be careful about this nasty habit of his. He was too good a charmer for his own good. It might get her into some trouble some day, or at least he might get himself in a bind if he wasn't careful.

"Good girl Shara, now let's get you out of these dirty clothes and into something far more comfy," He said so charmingly she almost didn't get what he was inferring. She raised an eyebrow at him. "What? Just because you have a son, you don't want to try for another? Perhaps one of your own?" he said slowly leaning in closer to her.

She laughed a little bit and cast off the blanket she had been clinging to. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt now would it? We just have to be careful; it would be a bit suspicious if we start having children like rabbits. "She said coyly as she walked into their bedchambers.

"I don't know my lord, though her story is probable, I do not know if it would be wise to trust her," Egremont said.

"I find is rather offensive that you doubt not only me in this decision, but also my wife and the manner I handle her Egremont. Have you stooped to the level of believing the gossip of old women? IF so, then I can truly say that I am rather disappointed in you, I thought you were better than that," Rahl said in a dismissive tone.

"I do not mean to offend you my lord, but I have a feeling about all of this. I wish to have some men follow her at all times, just for a little while, so that all these rumours can be quickly disbanded and all suspicion cast of the lovely queen,"

A quiet moment passed while Rahl contemplated to pros and the cons of this idea. It would of course prove to the public that the queen was not doing anything to harm the people as some thought. Then again, Shara would hate the idea of being watched and her in a bad mood was not something she wanted to deal with. He weighed each side of the balance carefully before he spoke his mind.

"I supposed it could only cause more good than harm to have my beloved followed, after all the ordeal she went through yesterday might affect her nerves in some terrible, unforeseen way, it would be wish for someone to keep an eye on her while she recovers from the stress of her day. It would also keep her from being harmed by any lunatic that might get in willing to harm her, "Rahl said, trying to rationalize the decision.

He figured that he would just have to deal with the anger that Shara would surely feel about being watched at all times. Of course he would place some boundaries such as her chambers and such, but she would basically have to be watched like a hawk for a few days. At least this would clear up any suspicions that the old women had and give him time to find out who really was doing all of this killing in his castle. He did not really appreciate having to tell so many mothers and wives that their husbands or sons would never come home. The looks on their faces were forever engraved in his mind. It did press him to discover the true villain and by the Creator he would do just that. He did dare anyone to stand in his way and try to stop him because he was resolute in this and would hold strong until whoever was leading those poor men to their death was kneeling before the Creator getting what he deserved; a lifetime of torture in the Underworld.


	12. Chapter 11

**For some reason I think this story might be turning into a bit of a mystery... You'll understand in a few chapters dearies. I promise I won't keep you waiting too long, but it is time for finals and all that jazz so dn't be surprised if I disapear for a week or two in the next month. I promise you though, your waiting will be well rewarded.**

**Of and thank-you My Lord( Darken Rahl) for gracing me with a few of your kind words. I am honored that you would allow me such an indulgence ;) Keep the reviews coming guys.**

Chapter 11

Rahl took a deep breath. He somehow knew that Shara wouldn't take his decision very well. He could almost say that he was afraid to get her too cross with him. He laughed at the thought. The great Darken Rahl, afraid of his young bride who no longer possessed half the power she used to. It was simply ridiculous; but so terribly true.

He shook his head and rounded the corner that would bring him into their apartment. The guards opened the doors and he walked in, just narrowly missing a bolt of energy that was ment to hit him. The doors closed quickly behind him while he looked around the room momentarily confused and then threw up a shield to block a bolt that would not have missed its mark.

"How dare you?" demanded Shara in a totally outraged voice.

He pitied the poor soul who had led to her finding out. He really shouldn't be surprised to find a corpse or two somewhere in the room. This is exactly why he had been uneasy knowing he had to face her. Though she was normally a rather calm and gentle girl, Shara had a bit of fire in her. When that fire was lit, it turned he into a bit of a little blood thirsty warrior. He literally flinched at the look she was giving him; it is a good thing that looks can't kill.

"How dare you assign guards to follow me? Do you really lack that much trust in me? If that is the case then just lock me up because then I am obviously lying all the time so I must be lying when I say that despite what you and everyone else thinks I am not to blame for the murders. I honestly can't believe this!" she said, starting off in a full on shriek and ending in a low tone of disgust.

He knew he had to be careful about what he said next or the consequences would be catastrophic. That would be bad. Very bad. He rather liked his body the way it was and if he said the wrong thing, he might have to live with it altered however she changed it.

"Shara, please calm down-" he started simply to be cut off by the death glare he was getting.  
Well that didn't work. Next tactic it was. If that failed then he would just give up, take the yelling and buy her some pretty new things and hope that she forgave him before he was forced into prolonged celibacy.

"It is understandable that you are unhappy with this decision," he started looking over at her for any clues of increased anger. "But I just want you to know that I am not all too happy about this as well. This was not something that I could easily manoeuvre you out of. The people demanded that you be followed to be one hundred percent sure that you are telling the truth. You know how the older nobles can get; it is futile to argue with them in matters of superstition and beliefs. I just figured that it would be better to let them have their way this one time instead of wasting time and energy on fighting them instead of using it to catch the one who really committed these crimes."

Shara stood there just staring at him. She looked like an enraged horse contained by a strong bit, not knowing whether to concede and accept the situation for what it is or to fight until she is forced to submit in a much harsher way. A few times she opened her mouth only to close it again, but all the while her eyes were small orbs of fire directed at him very strongly. It was so odd to see her so cross yet so speechless that he felt the need to laugh but managed to keep the low chuckle inside knowing that it would force the filly to choose to fight. Seeing as he wished her to accept her situation and lose all rage, laughing was not on the immediate agenda. He stood there patiently, trying to earn brownie points by not acting smug about making her be in this state.

After a good long time, the fire in her eyes slowly began to simmer out and her body began to relax. He slowly let a smile fall on his lips once she was almost back to her normal self. After one final huff, she took a tentative step towards him and he was glad to close the space between them. He pulled her into his chest to comfort her a little bit and to reassure her that he held nothing against her. He had learnt after their first argument that a hug or a kiss made everything all right in the end.

"I'm still mad at you, you know," she muttered into his chest.

"I know, and you will remain so for a while," he replied.

"And you know what that implies don't you," she added.

He looked down at her with a pleading look in his eye. He knew it looked absolutely absurd for him, the king of D'Hara, to be begging his wife for anything seeing as he could easily order a maid or other person to do it with not a second thought-especially in this manner- but that wouldn't solve a thing.

"But the last time... I mean it was better was it not?" he asked, hoping to try to sway him to his will.  
All he earned in reply was a small laugh and a brushing kiss on the cheek as she whispered," Oh love, that was a play fight. And if it makes you feel any better, imagine how great it'll be after this is all over."

So it would be the couch in the study tonight for him and the nice, comfy bed for her. He just hoped this didn't last too long. That would be very, very terrible for him.


	13. Chapter 12

**I can't believe I actualy managed to get this chapter finished but that much show you all how much I love you all. Keep up with the reviews. It might make me take a second to stop studying and write some more for you guys. Who knows... **

She lay in bed, unable to let sleep take her. She felt the weight of responsibility pressing on chest almost choking out all attempt to breath. She had to find a way to get to her lovely and feed it something before the end of the night.

She knew that sneaking out would bring more suspicion on her so she needed to come up with a decent excuse to leave the rooms and would have to come up with a way to get rid of those pesky guards that would follow her. Maybe she could play the worried mother card and go to the nursery. Once there, she knew of a servant's passageway that would at least get her away from the guards for a bit. That was her best bet but she really didn't feel comfortable bring her son into this.

With a loud sigh, she threw off her covers and donned a warm robe. She looked at herself in the mirror as she passed it. With a quick tussle of her hair she would look as if her night had been plagued with nightmares of harm coming to her dream son; or at least it would look so to the guards. She quietly passed from her bedroom to the entry. She opened the door as quietly as possible and closed it behind her just as quietly. Instead of looking caught in an action like a guilty person, she took on a look of superiority.

The guards looked at her, startled to see her out of her rooms so early and looking so sure of herself. They were watching her carefully, not sure what she was doing there. Oh but she had already worked this all out in her mind. She didn't hesitate with her next move one bit.

"My son needs me. I am going to see him, "she said softly.

"How do you know this?" the younger of the two asked.

Obviously he had never heard of a mother's intuition. She just gave him a questioning look. The younger guard earned a good elbow in the ribs as a reward for his insolence.

"Of course my lady, we shall escort you there, "the older guard said motioning that she should lead the way.

She quietly set off towards that nursery; the only sounds to be heard were the soft clonking of the guards' boots of the stone floor. The silence wasn't truly a welcome one but seemed to be more like the silence that occurred when one is surrounded by unwelcome guests. The air between them was so full of awkward annoyance that is was almost palpable. Neither party wanted to be here but there they were, stuck together for however long this lasted.

Finally, after what seemed an infinity, the group arrived at their destination. The queen simply nodded the guards as she entered the soothing sanctuary of the sleeping prince. The young woman couldn't help but smile as she gazed adoringly at her little gem. The nurse maid looked at her in a bewildered way but did not speak understanding the way a mother's mind works at times.

"Would you mind leaving for to time being? I'll call for your help if it is required. I'd like to be alone with my son for a while" she said to the maid in commanding but never the less a quiet voice to insure that the prince would remain in his perfect state.

The maid nodded and muttered something about being in the next room if she was needed. The room was so peacefully blissful. It was a nice change to the chaos of the past few days. She was almost sad that she would have to leave it.

She slowly moved closer to the crib and watched her little darling sleep. He truly was his father's son. A mop of dark hair was already starting to form on his little head and his eyes were the same stunning color too. The only thing he had seemed to inherit from her was his full, dark lips. She knew that he would grow up to be a handsome young man just like his father and just as good a leader.

She gently picked him up into her arms, careful not to disturb his innocent bliss. It would be a pity to wake him even now. She cooed at him ever so softly and rocked him in her arms. She was enjoying this moment far too much for her to believe. She never really saw herself as a mother type, sure she loved children and wanted to have lots but children seemed to hate her. Somehow this little angel hadn't gotten the message to hate her yet so for now she was going to enjoy this.

From the other room the nurse maid of the prince listened keenly to the sounds emerging from the nursery. She was ready to rush out and take the baby if it woke and started to fuss knowing that the queen was not one to do well with such things. The women didn't hold it against the queen, after all no woman was perfect and all in all this girl seemed to care for her people and seemed nice enough; a bit tenacious at times but really which queen wasn't?

A sound from the room stirred the older women from her daydreaming. It sounded like a muffled cry and the little prince suddenly erupted in a loud wail. In an instant the maid opened the door to find the queen and baby nowhere in sight. Fear was starting to make her heart pound loud in her ears. This would be all blamed on her. She knew it. 'Oh where are those guards when you need them? 'she asked herself.

The main door was wide open and not a sound came from anywhere. The maid dared to peek her head outside to see if anyone was outside and the only she saw was the flash of candle light on steel and the red river that now ran from her chest. Before she knew it, she was on the floor and from that red river sprung a red sea.

Two pairs of boots clonked somewhere in the hall but aside from that, the halls where as silent as a tomb.

**DON DON DON! OOOOOoooooo things are really getting heated now! I won't be too mean and keep you waiting for too long but then again I do have finals so... we'll see.**


	14. Chapter 13

**Well school is out and everything is great-FINALY DONE FINALS! Too bad you all will have to wait till next Sunday or Monday to get the next chapter. It's not that I don't want topost it, it's just I'll be out in the country so no, I won't have internet access even with my portable internet stick *sad face*. Oh well, there is always good ole pen and paper unil then and I'll just have to suck up the effor and type it all up afterwards. It's ok, I will survive.**

**Anyways... back to the story**

Chapter 13.

Rahl woke up to an annoying amount of noise. It took him a little bit for him to realize that the noise was merely loud knocking on the door to him study and someone saying "my lord" over and over. He groaned softly and looked around him to see if he could figure out what time it was. If he had slept in he would- no it was still dark outside, then what on earth could this person want? It better be important or he'd kill them.

"My lord," came the voice again.

"Yes?" he asked in an annoyed voice.

"May I come in?" came the voice again after a slight pause, a hesitation on his disturber's part.  
Rahl slipped on his over robe and felt confident that he looked decent enough for a subject to see him. Sure his chest was bare but that would add to his egotistic persona in most eyes. Only a guy with lots of ego-and/or pride- could walk around half naked and be totally comfortable with it. Yes this would do quite well.

"You may, be quick about it, "Rahl snapped.

An awkward looking boy stepped into the room and bowed down to him before he could breathe twice. The whole while Rahl could only think about how could this boy be one of his guards. His arms looked too frail to carry a sword and he was still growing into his long limbs, thus making him look so much more an awkward adolescent. Then he realized that the boy was waiting for him to relieve him of his low bow. Rahl made the correct gesture and waited for this boy to tell him why he was woken so early.

"I was sent to fetch you my lord. General Egremont said that he needed your immediate presence and that I am to take you to him, "the boy said, the whole while his voice cracked on almost every other word even though it was painfully obvious that the teen was trying to hide this from his king.  
With a soft sigh, Rahl got up from his restful position on the couch and stretched out slowly like a cat. The boy waited patiently for him to be ready, trying not to stare at the normal action the king was displaying. When the king was ready, he nodded at the boy as if telling him to lead the way.

He had no problem with strutting around half naked in the halls, in fact he almost enjoyed it. It was worth it just to see the different looks he got; everything from disgust to attraction. He always got the later from the most unlikely person it seemed. Anyways he had the right to do as he pleased in his castle and his subjects would just have to accept that. He wasn't about to put any effort into his appearance if he didn't want to, and right now he hardly had the will to do anything. He just wanted to get this over with and find Shara to try and get her to forgive him, even just a little bit.

Before he knew it he was before Egremont who looked as if he could kill someone on the spot. Rahl looked at him with a quizzing expression as he asked," what is it Egremont?"

"She's really done it this time," was the answer he got. Really, that didn't help him at all.

"Would you mind elaborating that thought general, I don't not know of what you are speaking," Rahl said, a bit of his annoyance seeping through.

"That witch you call a wife. She's killed the guards or enchanted them or something, killed your son's nursemaid and taken him from his chambers," Egremont spit out.

Emotions hit Rahl like a ton of bricks. He felt angry at Egremont for insulting his love, conflicted about whether or not he should believe the general's scenario and betrayed at the thought that his wife might have actually done the things she was convicted of. He decided to deal with the emotions as they came instead of mauling them over too much.

"First of all my dear general," now it was his turn to be angry but his anger manifested itself in a deep, venomous voice that sent a shiver up your spine," I do not appreciate you dishonouring my wife in such a way. You do not know what truly happened here and until you do I suggest you get over yourself. Second of all, if my son is missing, don't stand around talking about who did it and go find him!"Now his panic and worry for his son's well being was becoming evident."Don't you realize that that child is the future of D'Hara?"

That really set things into action. Solders were sent to patrol the halls and search the rooms. Every nook and cranny in the Palace would be searched and the Palace would be shut off. No one would be allowed in or out in any way until the prince was found. Rahl stood in the room watching the orders be given out and couldn't help but feel a little bit thankful towards Egremont, he knew exactly what to do in times like these whereas Rahl would be at a loss.

"Just a question my lord' if you don't mind me asking," Egremont asked, his voice almost as cautious as his words seemed. "If we find the queen with the child and my theory is proven right, what will you do?"  
"Well of course if we find her and you are true then my wife has truly been possessed or lost her mind and shall be killed immediately," Rahl said, trying to sound sure of himself even though the thought of this scenario coming true was eating him up.

After a slight hesitation Egremont said,"Well then for your sake, my lord, I hope I am proven wrong. "And the Rahl was left to his thoughts.

'Oh I hope so too dear friend, I hope so too '.


	15. Chapter 14

**Sorry to keep you all hanging but between grand mother birthdays and internet being down I haven't been able to upload this chapter and the next one that I have managed to write. A few days and I'll upload the epilogue which must be subject to a bit of editing first. **

Chapter 14

Her heart pounded in her ear as she held her baby son close to her chest. Fear was slowly starting to settle over her like a thick wool blanket, making her start to feel as if there was nothing around her but her son and the cold steel placed at her neck. Whenever she would hesitate her steps forward into the darkness of the passage she would feel the blade push into her back a little further. She was just glad that the pass had levelled out because she couldn't see a thing in front of her.

She could hear the slug plodding of the boots of her captor behind her and the soft sniffing of her son's breathing against her chest. It was a miracle that he had stayed asleep or at least quiet for this long. She didn't want to think of what might happen if he got fussy and made noise. Her captors hardly felt like the sort of people that would hesitate harming a baby if they had to.

_She felt a hand close around her mouth and she let out a muffled scream of shock. She was suddenly pulled back and out of the room and she was thrown against the wall. Her arms kept her son from being smushed against the wall. All she could do was stay quiet at the moment and hope that they would stop pressing the bone chilling metal against the skin of her neck. _

_"Don't you make a sound," warned a deep, threatening voice and then the blade was gone. She shuddered. She tried to catch a look at her captor and only saw her son's nursemaid being stuck through. She stifled a cry of surprise. As the maid fell to the ground, she found herself being ushered forward and away for the unnecessary death that had just happened in front of her eyes. _

_It only took her a few seconds to realize that there where two people behind her. That made her body stiffen just a little bit more. She knew she would have normally tried to run but she wouldn't chance it with her son in her arms. She knew the best thing she could do is keep quiet and do as she was told...yet again. Before she knew it, they were directing her towards an old servant's passageway and she was forced to stumble down a flight of stairs and down a passageway. Her mind raced with worries and possible ways of getting away but none were good enough for her to attempt._

"Keep moving," came the rough voice from behind her.

She hadn't noticed that she had stopped walking forward into the abyss as she had receded into her mind. She quickly shuffled forward hoping not to annoy the men behind her anymore then she already had. In her haste she tripped over an unseeing step and braced herself to take the full impact of the fall but to her surprise she was caught and righted.

She heard a soft growl and then a soft, "What? If she is hurt then she won't be able to walk by herself." She heard a soft grunt of approval before she felt the sword encourage her forward yet again.

She was far more careful about where she put her feet after her near fall. She didn't know if she would be lucky next time and have her fall broken. The second one was right, if she fell she would not be able to walk properly if she hurt herself. She didn't want to have to depend upon their compassion and hope that they wouldn't kill her right there if she couldn't keep moving forward.

The only reason she could think of as to the reason she was alive was that they wanted to keep her and her son as a hostage or they just simply thought it would be easier to keep the prince quiet if his mother was the one holding him, she couldn't decide yet. She dearly hoped the later was not right because then that would mean that she would be the next thing the sword would become best friends with if she made any more mistakes or once they got wherever they were going.

Suddenly she just felt a stomach churning amount of anxiety. Somehow she just had a terrible feeling that she knew exactly where there were going and she didn't really like it. She did not want to bring her baby near there and desperately wanted to get away from the area they were going. Something inside her pulsed and she felt the ground shake slightly.

"What the hell was that?" yelled the second voice.

The deep one shushed him quickly and growled as he reached for her. He shook her slightly and growled out,"Don't you dare try any of that magic stuff you little witch! You just walk ahead and don't try anything funny."

She cowered away from the big form before her. She felt so weak but she couldn't help but be terrified. He had the advantage by far. Now that he knew she might try something, she had to be extra careful if she wanted to get out alive. Her knees shook as she forced herself to move towards the one thing she didn't want to get to for the first time in a long long time.

After a torturous long time they finally emerged right where she knew she hadn't wanted to go. She trembled slightly as her beast raised its head to look at her with a curious look. She could feel its hunger from where she stood and cursed the fools for not feeding her lovely. He would jsut be more cranky now.

"And now is the time you give us your son and get into that cage where you belong, your majesty," the cruel one snarled, his voice laced with smooth poison and sarcasm as he called her by her title.

She clutched her son to her chest and shook her head furiously. She was NOT going to give her son to either of these men. She didn't know what they would do to him and either way he would be safer with her in the cage. The beast wouldn't dare attack her no matter how hungry it was.

"Fine then, get in there with your precious little son and you can both die. It's not like that son is natural anyways, I bet it is as much a demon as you are."

She was shoved into the cell before she could say anything is response and the door was slammed shut behind her. The beast raised its head even more and brought its mouth close to her and let out a hot breath. As much as she knew she was safe, she couldn't help but take a few steps back to feel herself pressed up against the wall of the cell.

She could hear the two guards arguing outside of the cell.

"The child was not to be hurt, you promised me," the kinder one said.

"The bitch didn't want to give it up so I wouldn't make her. It is cruel to take a child away from its mother at such a younger age anyways. IT is fitting to let the two demons die together."

"I won't let this happen. It is cruel..." he was cut short by the sickening sound of metal sliding in and out of human flesh. A loud thud was heard and the young queen whimpered. If he was willing to off his own partner, then he surely would come in and kill her if the beast didn't.

She heard the cell door open and then she saw the big guy at the door. He wore a mad smirk on his face and he threw in the corpse of the smaller guy. She shuddered as the beast snorted and started to chow down on the fresh meat. She felt wet, warm liquid start to streak her face and she let out a soft shriek of surprise.

"Well now, I wonder why it'll eat Gary here and not you? Maybe because a good beast never hurts its master? Yes, I believe that is it, but I wouldn't feel too safe if I were you, any beast will attack what it can get if it is hungry enough and is on a blood lust. Guess what, I think this thing might just be a little bit crazy right now."

It was the cruel laugh that got her. She shuddered and no longer had the ability to stand. She fell back against the wall and let herself fall to the ground. She closed her eyes and just hoped that he was wrong. As much as she tried, she could not block out the crunching of the bones and the slopping up of the blood and chewing of the organs. The sounds ended and finally she felt the warm breath of her beast on her face. She felt the warm liquid slid down her face and she shivered all over.

"S-s-stop! R-r-right now!" she said, trying to sound convincing enough to stop the thing.

It didn't work, and that was the last thing she knew. She was at least spared the pain as her mind sent her into the realm of the unconscious. She didn't have to deal with everything that happened. Her mind spared her that, and so did the Keeper when she saw him.


	16. Epilogue

**AN at end**

Epilogue

He ran after the messenger boy. He didn't just jog leisurely, nor did he really sprint, but he ran in a sort of way that showed anyone who might have seen him that he was running somewhere important. If they knew what he was running towards, they might have run after him, or run the other way, it all depended on the person. It shocked him that he was actually running. He had never had reason to run in his palace before and now that he had a reason, it felt slightly strange but more liberating than he thought. It wasn't the time for him to enjoy the feeling though, he had many more important things to think about than his stupid emotions.

When he got the message from his general, he had a very bad feeling about all of this. He felt as if he should hurry after the youth who was sent to bring him the news. The fact that he was not told any details worried him more than anyone could have imagined, or at least more than they would all know. He realized that the boy had started to slow down which only ment that they were getting close to wherever they were going. When he realized where they were heading too he let his feet stop moving, planting him on the spot. His face paled slightly.

"My lord?" the boy asked.

"Are we going where I believe we are going?"Rahl asked after cleaning his throat.

The boy just nodded slowly and shivered before setting of at a trot again. Rahl felt a whole lot better that he was not the only one that was afraid to go near that thing, just his reason was very different than the boy's. Rahl forced his legs to move forward, taking him towards his worst nightmare.

He knew it would be bad, but he never though it would be this bad. Egremont tried to stop him from going near the cell but he could not force the king to stop. The king was on a mission and the general was not so stupid as to try to stop him. Rahl couldn't help but let out a slight gasp at the sight of his beloved. He bent down and went to pick her up but he hesitated slightly. He took a moment to take in the sight of her.

She was bent over something and she had obviously tried to protect it with her life. And that was exactly what the beast took, her life. And his son's. And a few of the guards. Her limbs were gnawed on and covered with warm blood that was still oozing out of her slowly.

He knelt down next to her and cradled her head in his arms. He studied the expression that she had left this world with. She looked more shocked than anything. There was no pain or fear in her eyes or sketched on her face; just a mix of determination and shock. It hurt him far more than it seemed it did her just to look at her in this state. He leant down and kissed his wife's forehead as he closed her eyelids.

He leant over and picked up his dead son and kissed his head lightly. He almost lost his composure as he actually touched the pulseless corpse of his only heir. He couldn't help but feel greatly impacted by this small infant's death. It was his son, even if it wasn't truly his wife's and therefore the heir to the throne of D'Hara. His death would mean so much to his people; it would bring about so much grief and strife.

He couldn't imagine how terrible the next few days, if not weeks would be for him. Right now he was just happy that he was numb to the bone or he wouldn't have been able to control his sobs. At least this way he would be fine for a while, he would be able to walk around in this state for a while and it would take until he was alone tonight for this all to set in. The gravity of the situation was just starting to strike him.

"My lord, what do you want us to do about all this?" he heard Egremont ask him softly from just behind him.

"Tell the people of the queen's and prince's death and how the queen had killed the beast as she was fed to the beast by a captor that the beast later killed. Tell them all that mourning will last a fortnight and that there will be feast nightly in the queen's and prince's honour open to all," Rahl said without looking away from his son's dead body.

"My lord, how do you know that is what happened? All of the witnesses are dead. Events could have easily come to pass a whole other way," Egremont replied.

"I don't, but seeing as we will never really know I believe that she should die a hero. Throw in a bit about the Seeker sending the kidnapper if you wish, just play up her innocence and that someone else is at fault. I won't have her die for any other reason," Rahl replied turning to look at the general.

With a stiff nod the general backed away from the king. He didn't think that he had even seen that look on Rahl's face, and he had seen the king in many states throughout his life. He knew that doing as he was told was exactly what the king needed right now, so he would spread the word of the queen's bravery and such. He would find out what really happened another day.

"You heard the king solders. Spread the word. Oh and someone, clean up that god awful mess and keep the beast's head as a trophy. Someone bring the queen and son somewhere dignified where they can be prepared for the funeral ceremonies." Egremont shouted out orders to all the solders around knowing that the king would approve. Sometimes it was better to just assume that he knew what the king needed or wanted to happen than to ask the king's permission all the time.

Rahl nodded to all of the orders absentmindedly. Despite Egremont being annoyingly suspicious at times, he knew that the general knew what should be done in times like these when he had no clue what to say or do. He would just be a zombie for the rest of the day and that would be fine by him. If anyone had a problem with that then he would deal with them when he was in his right mind, which he had a feeling wouldn't be for quite some time. Luckily for him, he had someone at his back that would deal with anything urgent and wouldn't try to do anything while he was vulnerable. He liked knowing that he had someone that he could trust.

* * *

Well this is it, the end of this little story between the great Darken Rahl and his late wife Shara. I hope you hve all enjoyed this as much as I have. Feel free to read any of my other stories if they interest you, if not then I hope that I will come across you another time on the interweb. If not I hope you have a great life.

Your humble author,

Hulachowdown


End file.
